Our Personal, Emotional and Spiritual Relationship with Food: An Interview with Deborah Kesten

Considering the importance and relevance that food represents to us, our modern relationship with it is often fraught, conflicted, and misguided. Whether we are carelessly and mindlessly indulging in junk food, rapidly gulping down fast food, restlessly taking in chips, chocolate, and cake alongside scoops and helpings of ice cream or whether we are on the other side of the spectrum by essentially restricting and punishing ourselves with difficult, imbalanced, and impossible diets, we are not giving food its due and recognition.

Food is essential and central for our survival, but it can also be an immense source of pleasure. Although we often punish ourselves with food, either through stress-induced under- or overeating, it is also used as a vital form of celebration. Food can be a comfort but also an appreciation and affirmation of and connection with cultural and ethnic identity. We use food as a ritual, such as ceremonious and festive meals for and with the family during holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas as well as birthdays, weddings, wedding anniversaries, and even funerals.

In Christianity, the Last Supper symbolized both an impending death as well as a celebration and renewal of life, where bread became the body of Christ, and wine his blood, which the disciples were then to imbibe and incorporate willingly and mindfully. Then there are various native and indigenous traditions including Harvest festivals and Kwanzaa festivities with its Karamu feast. In Islam, long periods of fasting during Ramadan tend to culminate in feasts of gratitude and relief.

We are, in fact, much more than what we eat, and this came to light after an enlightening interview with holistic nutrition researcher and author Deborah Kesten whose approach towards and views on dieting are impressive, effective, and scientifically sound and valid. In a world where most people are spending their money, efforts, and energy on methods that do not work, do not pay a dividend and end up causing more harm than good, in a world in which a billion people are obese while another billion are undernourished, in which about half of Americans are on or are following a rigid diet, it is time to put certain practices under review. Deborah believes that dieting should not be merely about restrictive and punitive measures but rather part of an integrated and a balanced lifestyle, while it is at the same time not only a matter of what we eat but also how we do so.

As such, food and its intake become an essential and integrative part of our lives. It gives nourishment to both our body and soul, and we should not underestimate nor overlook the emotional and spiritual connotations and connections with food. Food should not serve as a replacement of one’s emotional problems or lack of connection with oneself; it is not a treatment nor scapegoat, the same way, we should not abuse alcohol, with the significant difference that we could fully abstain from the latter while we could not possibly do the same with food.

It has been Deborah’s focus to find and promote an overall balance and equilibrium of body, mind, and spirit, and this has enormous beneficial health effects on us, and it has been studied, documented and proven over various years propped up and supported by many scientific and peer-reviewed articles. In fact, she has focused on the connection between food and physical, social, emotional, and spiritual health starting with her first book entitled Feeding the Body, Nourishing the Soul to her most recent book Whole Person Integrative Eating: A Breakthrough Dietary Lifestyle to Treat the Root Causes of Overeating, Overweight, and Obesity. 

Deborah is aware of the importance of using a personalized plan, one that is specially and specifically tailored to each person. There is no one plan that fits everyone, the same way, medication cannot and does not treat or affect people in one and exactly the same manner. We are unique and different outside and inside out, and many lose sight of the important aspect of individual differences. For instance, I myself am a strong proponent of Intermittent Fasting, and she wisely did not object to it, but equally wisely, she noted that although it may have worked for me, it might not work for everyone and might not be everybody’s cup of tea.

Unfortunately, the medical profession often overlooks and underplays that aspect as they tend to separate the body from the mind and find ways of treating the former with pills and remedies. Yet obesity, one of the most dangerous and rapidly rising health issues that influence and cause a wide range of life-threatening complications ranging from heart disease to diabetes and to certain types of cancer, cannot simply be treated with a prescription or with stringent forms of dieting.

The best manner to tackle a health problem like obesity is to first examine the underlying issues. What is it that leads people to overindulge or to be drawn to unhealthy food and lifestyles? To find this out, Deborah has developed a self-assessment quiz, which not only sheds light on the reasons why we may overeat but where she also identifies seven different overeating styles, such as emotional eating, food fretting (dieting, calorie-counting, and/or being obsessed with healthy food options), fast foodism, sensory disregard (mindless eating without savoring flavors), task snacking (eating in front of the TV and/or the computer), unappetizing atmosphere (eating in unpleasant surroundings or environments) and finally, solo dining (dining more often alone than with others).

By acknowledging and knowing what the problems are, one can direct one’s mind towards necessary and effective solutions. Obesity does not occur overnight and involves most likely a vicious cycle; to break that unhealthy chain one needs to address and expose emotional issues and identify and deal with destructive and detrimental eating habits. This is one of the main aims and aspects of Deborah’s wonderful and insightful Whole Person Integrative Eating program, which has shown to not only prevent but also reverse obesity, heart disease, and even diabetes.

Although medical doctors, not unlike my own family physician, often insist that diabetes cannot be cured or reversed, science tells us otherwise, namely that it is within the realm of possibility once the necessary actions and interventions have been taken and fully explored. In fact, Type 2 diabetic patients are often indirectly and inadvertently encouraged by nutritionists and doctors to be obsessed about food intake and end up engaging in what Deborah calls “eating by number”- a common but disordered way of eating that leads to wight gain and other health complications.  

However, scientific research by Dr. Erica Oberg who practices integrative and natural medicine has demonstrated that how one eats - social nutrition and the manner one consumes food- significantly affects the body’s metabolism due to a more pleasurable relationship with food and eating, and this, in turn, leads to weight loss, not necessarily as an intended purpose and goal but more as a welcome side effect. 

In fact, six of the seven overeating styles have been linked in a way and another with diabetes, so it is more a matter of eating style and less an issue of the food itself, although healthy food habits, such as incrementing one’s intake of fresh vegetables, fruits, and vitamins, minerals and fiber and decreasing processed foods and what Deborah calls “chemical cuisine” are strongly linked and connected with maintaining and preventing optimal health, and effectively reversing chronic conditions and ailments, such as diabetes.

As such, Deborah and behavioral scientist Larry Scherwitz have distilled their research of ancient traditions, customs, lifestyle, and eating patterns into three spiritual nutritional observations. They include insights gleaned from major traditions like Buddhism and Hinduism in which one eats with mindfulness, shows gratitude and appreciation as well as loving regard for the food. We probably have all experienced a meal that has been prepared, cooked, and imbued with love tends to taste so much better than when this is not the case, and there is a spiritual truth to it.    

This program is more than a diet; it is a lifestyle that goes back to wisdom and knowledge of ancient times, anywhere from Indian practices and beliefs to the ancient Greek philosophers and medics like Hippocrates for whom diet was not just about restricting food but represented a way of life. This makes one's quest for health not only enduring but also fascinating and all-inclusive. It is not and cannot be just a fad, but Deborah’s program is a dietary lifestyle where ancient food wisdom meets modern nutritional science. Various components of it have been embraced and have been even taught under what is known as lifestyle medicine.

It is holistic even in its historical approach of time by integrating the past with the present and into the future, and a geographic and cultural focus across the world, cultures, and traditions by including yogic traditions and Eastern healing systems (such as India’s Ayurvedic medicine, traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine), while also traversing disciplines ranging from nutritional anthropology and nutrition (Deborah’s academic background and expertise) and psychology (with some assistance from her spouse/co-author and contributor/ behavioral scientist Larry Scherwitz) to philosophy and religion.

Moreover, I was pleasantly surprised that she was not opposed to my quest across the profound realms of depth psychology, but she seemed to even embrace and condone it by giving me a literal thumbs-up, something that even many psychologists may not accept and may even criticize and frown upon. She has also approached and expanded upon the topic of orthorexia, an obsession with healthy food and lifestyles, an important and relevant issue that is often underreported, if not downright neglected and glossed over in today’s media.

After personally talking to Deborah, I cannot wait to read her book and am planning to include and incorporate it as a reference (alongside Brian Wansink’s Mindless Eating and Mark Mattson’s articles on Intermittent Fasting) within my own self-help book project that I am planning to hopefully finish this year. While my approach focuses mostly on psychology and stress, her concepts on nutrition and its social and emotional impact with the recommended mindset of "relaxed restraint" versus fretting and obsessing over food and health are relevant, helpful, and very useful.

It is indeed most encouraging and heartwarming to find not only similar-minded individuals, researchers, and leaders but also to encounter those who take a path that is not only revolutionary but that will bring fruitful and longstanding results and rewards to everyone. 

Instead of engaging in the next dieting trend better to spend your time, focus, and money on what will not only help you lose weight but also give you overall health. Although science may still be on the lookout for the Theory of Everything, Deborah’s Whole Person Integrative Eating program comes closest to it by promising and delivering essential and important health benefits and healing to everyone who decides to embark upon its path.  

You can find and access the complete interview on my YouTube channel: 

Arash's World Zoom Interview with nutritional expert & health guru Deborah Kesten

If you prefer to listen to the interview, here's a link to my podcast: Arash's World Podcast

Trump and Diana: A Tale of Two Narcissists Part 2

As promised, here is the second part of A Tale of Two Narcissists. While spotting and labeling Trump as a narcissist (he falls into the psychopathic, malignant, and most dangerous category) is rather quick, immediate, and easy to do, it is much more difficult to spot and define the beloved and cherished Princess Diana as a narcissist. In fact, I did not think of her as one until I saw the 2017 documentary In Her Own Words in which she described certain traits and behaviors that made it clear to me that she would fall into the spectrum.

Although I would not put her in the same boat as Trump – when it comes to narcissism there are different shades and levels - there are still many links and affinities between the two that I will try to draw out in this post. Both are good at manipulating others and spreading gossip and rumors while also playing the press in giving us a false, faulty, and often idealized impression of themselves. In the case of Trump, the media realized, sooner than later or rather later than sooner, that they were, to a large extent, responsible and guilty of getting him elected in the first place; they put him in the spotlight by giving him airtime and publicity regardless of whether it was good or bad press that he received. Often, it was the bad press that helped him gain more attention and notoriety bringing and ushering him many fans and followers in the process.

However, in the case of Diana, it was somewhere between wishful thinking and love at first sight that made us fall for her and made us not realize the many gaping flaws that lay beneath her projected and carefully crafted persona.

In fact, many of us may still hold and grab onto a positive perception of the Princess of Wales and may still swallow it whole; we may believe her to be kind and a champion of the weak and downtrodden as there are certain narratives we like and prefer to believe in while ignoring or turning a willing blind eye to more disturbing trends and unflattering facts of the matter. It is even more emblematic and symptomatic of the current era to jump to conclusions and to rush to blame by making the male counterpart accountable for most of the evils of the world, even in cases when this seems farfetched and not in accordance with the facts.

 

Diana’s Tale of Becoming the World’s Most Photographed Woman

Diana Spencer had since childhood envisaged and dreamed of being a princess. Her dream was not that farfetched as it may have seemed at first glance. Although the press and media tend to present her as a commoner entering, barging into, and eventually conquering the royal household, she was and had been already part and parcel of the noble class as the Spencer family had close ties with the royal family for several generations. In fact, she became Lady Diana in 1975, which was a handful of years before her marriage to Prince Charles.

The impression of Diana being like most other folks, common and ordinary is false, but it was promoted by the press intent on depicting her daily life, including photos of her as a schoolteacher. Although they may not have expressly stated it, the iconic photographs of her with school-age children around her spoke volumes at the time. Yet, in reality, Diana was not qualified to teach but she was a playgroup pre-school assistant and worked as a nursery teacher’s assistant, while also doing some cleaning for her sister Sarah, the same one who had briefly dated Prince Charles before her. Lady Diana wasted neither time nor attention to gain the Prince’s attention, the man who represented her gateway ticket to the royal palace and the dramatic scene in The Crown’s fourth season comes to mind as she playfully and seductively introduced herself to the prince in an unusual but attention-grabbing outfit for an alleged upcoming play.

Narcissists are great at charming others, at least for a while until sooner or later their true face appears and the charades and roleplaying come to a halt. Yet she was able to use her charms and her beauty to mesmerize the royal household and to gain raving reviews from everyone as she was generally well-liked and well-received. Like a chameleon, she must have been quite adept at giving everyone what they wanted most, all the while impersonating a carefully orchestrated shyness in front of others, particularly whenever cameras were within reach. The media became her greatest ally when convenient, and when inconvenient, her sworn enemy. And just like that, she had managed to leave behind those low-paying jobs as well as the flat that she owned and that she had shared with three roommates.

After the marriage, which must have seemed like an exact replica from her vivid childhood dreams, she loved to dwell and harbor in the camera’s beloved gaze. This went so far that not only did it rob attention from the royal household, but it made Prince Charles quite jealous. He was the one with the royal title, but it was his beautiful wife that got all the media coverage. Princess Diana was noted for her shyness but at the same time, she was quite photogenic. This came as no surprise as she knew she was posing for them and she loved all the attention she could get from their hungry eyes by parading and demonstrating a distinctive fashion sense.

Even when it was Prince Charles’s birthday, she pounced upon the opportunity to show herself off by revealing her ballet dancing skills to the world. This was supposedly to please him and was meant as a special birthday gift/surprise, but he was rather annoyed by her again stealing attention and recognition from him; he would have been simply content to enjoy the opera without the dramatic ballet intermission set to the music of Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” - something that had little to nothing to do with the Prince but was merely about shoving the princess into the limelight on his special day.

Diana’s life can be broken down into different phases with most of them being tied to the preconceived idea of her being a victim. There was the misunderstood and neglected wife who only played second fiddle to Charles as he had his eyes on his married first love interest, Camilla. This went so far that Diana in her own words and account threw herself down the stairs 12 weeks into her pregnancy. Although there is no denying that she was struggling with various mental health issues, including bulimia, and she is often diagnosed as having borderline personality disorder, I think that narcissism would make more sense in her case. For instance, her fall was not meant to hurt her but was merely meant to draw more attention to her while also being a sly and indirect rebuke as well as a potential threat and menace to her husband and by extension the royal family.

Her desire for attention was also what fueled her excessive involvement with over a hundred charities. I am not denying that in many ways, the attention that she drew towards those causes had beneficial effects, but her intention and focus were not on the issues themselves but rather only on promoting herself and having her bask in the flashing light of the media. Most people would limit themselves to a handful of charities of personal interest and relevance and would not engage in a the-more the-merrier mindset when it came to charitable involvement and philanthropic contributions.

Apart from the wide range of charities ranging from children and youth to AIDS, leprosy, cancer, animal protection, and landmines as well as the homeless, drug addicts, and the elderly and the dying, she was also involved with a brain injury association, the British lung foundation, the blind and the deaf and the disabled. All her involvement and interest were shallow. No one would be nor could be seriously interested in so many simultaneous and quite different issues at the same time. There is no common theme her except the aim and intention of grounding her firmly in the limelight.

Add to this, her rather unconventional approach to her charity work. For instance, she was not averse to making physical contact with AIDS patients as well as leprosy victims and she would not be afraid of walking across a field filled with potential landmines. In all these cases, she unnecessarily and indiscriminately put her own life as well as the lives of her two children at risk. The Queen was horrified at this type of behavior and wanted her to do “something more pleasant” with her time and efforts. On one hand, we would certainly appreciate the princess’s rebellious attitude, but it seems to me that all these efforts were meant to not only defy her husband and her royal family but also to visibly irk, annoy and destabilize them all.

Then there is the persona and image of the caring mother. For instance, despite suffering from postpartum depression, she took baby William with her on a major tour to Australia because she did not want to or could not part with her child. This was heralded by the media as an ideal example of motherhood, but, in reality, it was the Australian prime minister who suggested this, and it was not Diana’s idea, to begin with. While and whenever the cameras were zoomed and focused on her, she would feign the doting mother, and everyone watching was fooled by those transmitted moving images.

A caring mother would not expose her children to harm, as mentioned earlier with her recklessly dangerous charity initiatives, but let us not forget that she was actively cheating on Prince Charles, to such an extent that some questioned or put in doubt his fatherhood. Her defiance was of the role as a wife and mother as well as the rules and the decorum of the royal family, and she would be the one making decisions about the children regarding their upbringing, education, and lifestyle, effectively denying him and undermining and eroding the role of Prince Charles as both her husband and as their father.

Divorce was inevitable but it did not stop the problems with her. Ironically, in 1993 she decided to retire from public life only to re-emerge or make a “partial return” the following year. And she did so with her usual fashion sense but even hired a voice coach to improve her public speaking skills. Like an actress, she would rehearse certain scenes as well as reshoot some media coverage so that it looked and sounded the way she wanted it to look and sound. Again, it was less about the issues but more about herself and the people’s perception of her.

She was not averse to spreading gossip, lies, and mis- and disinformation, while the public doted on every word of hers and blindly and unquestioningly believed her, even when she was uttering outrageous lies. For instance, apart from claiming that it was Charles who was abusing her during her marriage, she even accused the prince of wanting to have her killed so that he could supposedly marry his personal assistant and whom he had apparently pressured and forced to abort their baby. Prince Charles’s relationship with Camilla was allegedly a sham so that he could later marry the woman whom he really loved, the once nanny of their children.

Finally, Diana’s death was tragic, but it was also not exactly how it is represented. The media was blamed, and there is no doubt that they played a significant role in it, but there was more to the accident than is generally known, acknowledged, or discussed. Most likely, they were all drunk in the car; there is, in fact, forensic evidence that the driver was drunk and under prescription drugs, apparently anti-depressant and anti-psychotic medication. Moreover, he was speeding and lost control of the car. No one in the car was wearing seatbelts. The media should not have chased them, but in a way, she was inviting and enticing them, and in the end, trying to escape from them sadly caused her and her lover’s untimely death.

My point is not to defile her and her image but rather to bring to light and demonstrate the power, hold, and sway that narcissists can have on all of us and how we are often fooled by them. For the longest time, I had the (mis)perception that Diana was a victim and that she had been mistreated by the royal family and by the press.

But once we dig deeper and examine the issues, she was a narcissist who was able to manipulate and deceive millions and millions of people around the world. Unfortunately, narcissists are the ones that make the biggest waves in history, but they are doing it only to satisfy their own needs and benefits, to get their narcissistic supply, whereas they do not care about others nor the consequences and repercussions of their actions.

In the end, they leave the world (their own people, country, party, the royal household, and family) in shambles, whether it is Trump with his presidency or the world’s cherished but only imagined and projected ideal of the rebellious princess who allegedly represented the common people and supposedly brought light and goodness to the world.

 

Trump and Diana: A Tale of Two Narcissists Part 1

 

Narcissists crave both attention and recognition. In a sense, being noticed and/or praised tends to fill them up temporarily and may give them a fleeting sense of satisfaction and purpose. Yet as it does not have a solid foundation, it can easily be undermined or swept away and will certainly diminish and fade. No matter how hard the narcissist looks to invalidate him or herself, the contingencies of time will make it necessary to have the next fix or dose of what is commonly referred to as their narcissistic supply. This need or desire for attention is not only what drives them, but it is their basic existential building block, while recognition and praise are their drugs of choice.

Since narcissists lack a core identity or personality, they can change ideology and alliances overnight and without rhyme or reason. They tend to align themselves with people who always say yes to them and who constantly and unconditionally applaud their ideas, no matter how detrimental, half-baked, or implausible they may be. At the same time, narcissists tend to shun and eliminate anyone that opposes their plans and ideas regardless of whether the criticism is constructive and the intentions behind them noble and well-meaning. In fact, for a narcissist, there is no such thing as constructive criticism; they see any criticism as a veiled and ultimately threatening personal attack on their very existence.

A narcissist’s worldview is simple and naïve and consists of black and white palettes only: You are either with them or against them. As they lack imagination and feeling and a sense of humor, they only see and evaluate everything in terms of how it benefits them personally at the moment, while they lack ethics and empathy throughout. Everything needs to be about them, and everybody should hold them up as a shiny role model by sustaining them on a pedestal. Trump sees himself as the king of the world, whereas Princess Diana saw herself as the world’s princess.

Finally, narcissists are highly adept at manipulating and controlling others. They may play the victim or the savior card at will, and occasionally they even put down both at the same time. They are good at making you believe that they are on your side and that they embrace, champion, and fight for your cause, but, in fact, this is far from the truth.

They are not the projected and purported shiny examples nor the voice of the people; in fact, all their actions are void of feeling and resonance and their only purpose is to impress others and earn people’s praise as they want to show the world how allegedly wonderful beings they are. I am still shocked that many still believe that Trump has their backs covered and that many still think that Diana was benevolent and caring, but sadly, both aspects and each tale are far from the truth.

 

Trump’s Tale of Lies and Manipulation

It is ironic (but not surprising) that from the first day of taking office, Trump has attacked what he deemed and promoted as “fake news” by virulently propagating his own so-called alternative view and version of facts and events. I remember that we all knew we were in for a bumpy ride when the then Press Secretary Sean Spicer tried to convince us against facts, evidence and not to say common sense that Trump’s inauguration excelled in attendance and popularity.

Two things that mark narcissists are their competitive streak with others and their desire to be - or rather be perceived as - the all-time best. Unlike people who strive for success and put in the extra hour of work and effort, the narcissist can often not be bothered. They expect everything to come to them quickly, handily, and effortlessly as they have an unusually high sense of personal entitlement. Just like their namesake mythological figure Narcissus, they are utterly and blindly in love with themselves, their image, personality, and their supposed and often imagined talents and accomplishments.

Competition looms large but again it is only driven by their desire to be perceived as the best of the lot. No matter what skill or event you talk about, they think they are always better and a step ahead of the rest of us. The actual accomplishments play only second fiddle. One of the main driving forces for Trump - apart from escaping financial ruin, cementing and fortifying his ailing business endeavors as well as escaping the law for tax evasion and malpractice - was his competitive streak with Obama. 

Trump was utterly envious of the success and popularity of the first African American president. Trump’s blatant and unapologetic racism alongside his espousal of racist ideology, groups and actions were undertaken for his own benefit but to also undermine all and any of Obama’s achievement and endeavors; yet, personal vendetta and agenda aside, Trump appears to feel most comfortable in the white-supremacist mindset and the fascist mold.

Narcissists feel they are in competition with everyone else simply because they want to be perceived as the best at everything that they set their minds on. It does not matter whether they have the necessary skills and qualifications. This is also the main reason why everything is in superlatives when Trump talks about himself, while even the greatest accomplishments of others are denigrated, brushed off, and symbolize nothing to him.

In fact, narcissists are so out of touch with reality and common sense that they could see everyone as potential threats, including their own children and family members. For instance, it is not unusual nor out of place for a narcissistic mother to want to seduce and steal her daughter’s boyfriend. Age, beauty, and simple decency are no hindrance to their unfiltered desires.

Yet as long as you are in their good books and unquestioningly obey, adulate and praise them, harm shall not fall upon you for the time being and you may be even promoted. The moment you criticize them, no matter how minor, reasonable, or constructive the criticism may be, the tables will turn all of a sudden, and in the blink of an eye, you will be given the boot, no matter how loyal, devoted and dedicated you have been to the narcissist. This has been clearly exemplified by uncountable turnovers in his administration.

Why do they handle criticism so badly? It is because they try to delude themselves on a daily basis that they are special, important, and intelligent when in reality, deep inside, they are - albeit dimly and subconsciously - aware that this is simply not true. Hence, instead of facing reality, they build a fortress of lies and make-believe in which facts are alternative and malleable and in which they are always right no matter how wrong they may be. Any potential doubt must be squashed to keep their illusions as real as possible and they do not hesitate to lash out at others.

If others criticize them, they are simply wrong. If the media disagrees with them, the news networks are the enemy of the people and their reports are completely baseless and misguided. People, journalists, and news networks that praise his outlandish and fantastical ideas are embraced, praised, and promoted by Trump. The truth has been thrown under the bus and instead, praise and idolatry are what matter most to Trump. It comes as no surprise that most dictators have been narcissists as they can have their way anyway they wish and can liberally impose punishments and even death upon all the souls that raise their voices in dissent.

One of the main problems of narcissists is that they have no core self. And with that, they are empty and void. Apart from an absence of empathy or any type of healthy feeling, they also lack ideals, values, and originality. Trump has always seen himself as a product to market to others. He is not intelligent but smart and knows how to manipulate and influence people. At some point, he may have contemplated running as a Democrat, but he found it easier and more convenient to run as a Republican.

Soon enough, he found his niche, and he tapped into what it was that the majority of the people responded to and resonated with. He was a product in the making and he would receive immediate feedback through his campaign rallies. If the slogans and chants were well received, he would usurp them and develop and build on them. It could be anywhere from Build the Wall to Lock her up. One of his catchiest and most promising ones, that of draining the swamp was also his emptiest of slogans as he merely filled the so-called swamp with his own brand of corrupt officials. The issues and actions may or may not have resonated with him personally, but they certainly worked charms for him alongside Reagan’s borrowed phrase of making America great again.

This also explains his overall lack of being steadfast and committed to causes. Trump would switch opinions at a whim without remorse or explanation. In his case, it does not help that he is astrologically speaking a Gemini who are, even in the best and healthiest of cases, known for having two faces and two personalities. He may be kind to his friends and family members but harsh and demanding with his staff; yet, in the end, neither part of that persona is his true essence as he lacks any core or essence, to speak of.

Trump is nothing but his own distorted projections, and he has lived in an alternate universe all his life. In his universe, his electoral win was a landslide, but the same number of electoral seats of his opponent suddenly turns into an election too close to call. In fact, since the results are not to his liking, he puts the whole election process and democracy into doubt to serve his own megalomaniacal benefits.

The sad aspect is that his followers have fallen for what they erroneously believe he actually stands for and they are in many ways as lost and deluded as he is. In fact, Trump only cares about himself, and absolutely no one else. For instance, he politicized the virus for his own gains and benefits regardless of the countless lives that have been lost in the process. 

He is the worst type of narcissist, the psychopathic one that thinks of his own benefits at the expense of everything and everyone else. And yet, he still has many followers out there who are voting and rooting for him even though he does not give a damn about them; Trump would sacrifice all of them in a heartbeat. He has built an army of sycophants around himself and has done long-lasting harm and damage to his political group of choice, the Republican party with its constituents. 

You can find Part 2 here: Diana's Tale of the World's Most Photographed Woman